Jake Long III (Season Three)
Chapter/Episode Four: First Day of Training Part 4
Night had fallen, and now Haley and Cherri landed in front of Jake III's house. Jake III, who was on Haley's back, slid off and stepped back as he watched Haley and Cherri turn to face him. "Well..." Cherri smiled. "...That sure was interesting..."
"You did a good job today." Haley told him.
"You think so?" Jake asked.
"Listen..." Haley said as she took a step forward and then crouched down, putting a clawed hand on his shoulder. "...It was only your first day."
"I know."
"You're going to get better." Haley promised him. "It's just going to take a little bit of time."
LINE BREAK
Moments later, Jake III entered the house, opening and closing the front door. Turning back around after closing the door, Jake could see his father coming down the stairs. "Hey, son." Jake Jr. said with a smile. "Good to see you home."
"Yeah..." Jake replied. "...I'm tired."
"I hope you're not too tired to tell us all about your day." Jake Jr. grinned. "Come on!"
"Dad, no!" Jake III tried, but his father ignored him, walking into the kitchen. Sighing, Jake started to walk into the kitchen, and as soon as he stepped in, he could see his father sitting down at the table, his mother and sister already seated.
"Come and sit down." Jake Jr. said with a smile on his face.
Sighing, Jake started to walk over to the table. "So, what do you want to know?" He asked as he reached the table. "We meditated and then I spent the rest of the day with a blindfold over my eyes."
"Huh?" His father asked.
"Trust exercises." Jake replied.
"Rosie, do you know what trust exercises are?" Their mother asked, staring at her scowling daughter. "Have you done any with yo-? Okay, never mind." She leaned back in her chair.
"My master just wanted me to learn to trust him completely." Jake said. "That's all."
"How'd that go?" Jake Jr. asked.
"Meh." Was Jake's answer. "Okay, there." He finished. "Can I go up and get some rest now?"
"Well, what do you mean by-?" Jake Jr. tried to ask, but his son turned and started to walk out of the kitchen.
"Let's just say that I'm going to need some more work on it." Jake said quickly. "Okay, good night!" With that, he left the kitchen, leaving his parents and younger sister alone at the table.
"Yeah, I'm out." Rosie said as she got up from the table and started to follow her brother up stairs, leaving the room.
FLASHBACK
Magness pressed the button of a communication device, causing a holographic image of Mrs. Jennings to appear. "Master..." Magness said respectfully as she lifted the holographic form up to her eye level.
"Is Holly back yet?" Mrs. Jennings asked.
"No." Magness said with a smile on her face. "She doesn't need to come back."
"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Jennings asked irritably.
Lifting up her free hand, Magness snapped her fingers, and within seconds, Xyxrlove rushed up to Magness' side, holding onto Riley, who had his wrists tied together.
"Your son came here all on his own." Magness told her shocked master.
"Aw..." A smile appeared on Mrs. Jennings' face. "...So, you came back for your family, huh?"
"Yes." Riley replied, narrowing his eyes. "I also brought back-up."
"Well, that didn't help you much." Xyxrlove said with a smirk.
"He's here, master." Magness said. "What do you want us to do?"
"I want you to wait here until Holly gets back." Mrs. Jennings said. "I will contact Nagendra and tell them to come back to the house. Once they arrive, tie Holly up along with the others and then leave with Riley."
"Yes, my master." Magness bowed her head respectfully before the holographic image of Mrs. Jennings vanished.
Then, Magness lifted her head back up as put the communication device back into her cloak. She then turned her head to the side to look at Xyxrlove. "Put Riley with the others for now." She said.
Nodding her head, Xyxrlove turned and threw Riley forward. With his hands tied, Riley stumbled before he fell and rolled over to where Jake and Rose were sitting against the wall, their bound hands placed on their knees, the ropes attached to the ropes binding their ankles.
BLACKOUT; PLAY THEME SONG
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Meanwhile, Holly continued to fly toward Janemita, who just hovered in the air, smiling as Shortcloak and Quoven descended down to where she was hovering. "Oh, boy..." Holly's eyes widened.
"Now." Janemita said. The three minions then opened their mouths and blew out torrents of fire, each torrent the color of the cloak that they were wearing.
Yelping, Holly just managed to duck. As Holly came to a halt, looking up at the flames, she was unaware that Nagendra was flying up to her until he smacked into her from behind.
Shortcloak, Janemita and Quoven all descended down and watched as Nagendra grinned evilly, putting each of his clawed hands against Holly's skull, pressing together, making Holly scream in agony as he tried to crush her skull.
Reacting unconsciously, Holly kicked with her feet as she screamed for a few good seconds before she finally remembered that she still held her walking stick. Her eyes widening in realization, she quickly brought her stick up and conked Nagendra over the head, making Nagendra grunt, release Holly and then plummet to the ground, just as he received an incoming call from Mrs. Jennings.
While Shortcloak and Quoven went after Holly, Janemita dove down and flew after the plummeting Nagendra. Quickly, she managed to catch up with him and grab hold of him just moments before he hit the ground. Gently, she lowered into the street and set him down on his back before she reached into his brown cloak and pulled out his communication device.
Taking it in both hands, Janemita pressed the button and saw the holographic image of Mrs. Jennings appear. Immediately, the look of victory on Mrs. Jennings' face turned into a look of anger.
"YOU are not Nagendra!" Mrs. Jennings said. "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, my master." Janemita said. "Nagendra is down."
"What?"
"We're fighting your daughter." Janemita answered, full aware of the look of anger that was appearing "She alerted the Council! Her brother went to them!"
"That doesn't matter!" Mrs. Jennings said. "We have Riley now."
"What?"
"He's here." Mrs. Jennings said. "You know what? Just kill her. Kill Holly and come back to me. I'll call Magness and tell her about the change of plans."
"Yes, master." Janemita said before the holographic image vanished.
Turning back around, Janemita looked up, only to gasp as she saw Holly up in the air, having hold on both Shortcloak and Quoven. Quickly, Holly threw Quoven down at Janemita, quickly followed by Shortcloak.
Quickly flapping her wings, Janemita flew up into the air, avoiding getting hit by Quoven, who hit the ground with a thud. However, she was unable to avoid being hit by Shortcloak, who slammed into her. Both then grunted and fell to the ground.
Hovering in the air, Holly looked down at her mother's unconscious minions. Satisfied, Holly flew off back toward Riley's house.
LINE BREAK
At Riley's house, Nidhug was in the kitchen and was going through the refrigerator, completely unaware that Xyxrlove was walking into the kitchen. Putting her clawed hands on her hips, she growled: "What are you doing?"
Then, Nidhug closed the door and turned around to reveal that he was holding a bottle of wine. "I say we celebrate!" He said.
"Celebrate what?" Xyxrlove raised an eyebrow. "Completing the mission that we were given?"
"Pretty much." Nidhug said as he set down the wine bottle on the counter.
"Our master will reward us for that, Nidhug." Xyxrlove said as she walked up to the opposite side of the counter. "So..." She put her clawed hands down on the counter. "...Stop rummaging through these people's stuff. Got it?"
"Yeah, whatever..." Nidhug said as he opened up the drawer and started to look for a corkscrew. "Can you go and ask one of them if they have a corkscrew?"
"Do it yourself, imbecile." Xyxrlove growled as she turned and stormed out of the kitchen. When she re-entered the family room, she found that Magness had taken Stennis, Storm and Carmela down from the ceiling and had placed them and Riley against the wall. Magness had finished tying Riley, Stennis and Storm in the same way as Jake and Rose, and was now finishing tying up Carmela.
As soon as Magness had finished, she stepped away, admiring her handiwork. However, when she saw Jake and Rose scowling at her, her smile vanished.
"Why?" Rose demanded. "How could you do this, Agent?"
"I'm not an Agent." Magness told her. "At least, not for the Council. Haven't been one in over a year."
"That's not why." Rose said.
"My master was comforting when I needed comfort." Magness narrowed her eyes.
"Fool, you do know that she's the reason why you look like you do!" Jake told her. "Grow up!"
"She's just using you." Riley said.
"Do you really believe that you can convince me to come back to the Dragon Council Agents?" Magness asked with a sneer as she turned around so that her back was to the prisoners. "It's too late for that."
"No, Magness." Rose said softly, Jake and Riley both watching as she managed to bring her tail around from behind her back. "I agree with you. It's too late."
Then, she pushed her tail forward, attempting to impale Magness from behind, but just before she could penetrate her, she froze her tail when Nidhug shouted from the kitchen: "FOUND ONE!"
"Found one of what?" Magness asked as she walked forward, rendering Rose's attack impossible.
"A corkscrew." Xyxrlove answered as Magness reached her.
"What does he need a corkscrew for?"
"Don't ask."
It was then that a ringing came from Magness' cloak. Both dragons quickly took a step back and Magness reached into her cloak, pulling out the communication device. Jake, Rose, Riley, Stennis, Storm and Carmela all watched as Magness answered the call.
"Hello?"
"There's been a change of plans." The holographic form of Mrs. Jennings said. "I had Quoven, Nagendra, Shortcloak and Janemita kill Holly. Instead of waiting for her to return, because she won't, kill your prisoners and bring Riley back to me."
"Yes, ma'am." Magness said.
Riley, Rose, Jake, Stennis, Storm and Carmela all watched with wide eyes as they watched the grinning Magness turn to face them, Xyxrlove walking up to her side, also grinning. "You heard it..." Magness said as she and her companion started to approach them.
However, just as Xyxrlove and Magness reached the prisoners, the door to the house swung open and Holly flew in, landing in the hall. "Jake?" She called out. "Riley? Are you here?"
"Oh, great." Magness rolled her eyes. "They failed to kill her..."
"Holly, it's a trap!" Storm shouted, only to grunt as Magness slammed her tail down over her head.
"Huh?" Holly's eyes widened.
She got her answer a few seconds later, when Xyxrlove stepped into view, holding Carmela by her left ear, Carmela's feet having been freed so she could walk. Tears of fear were forming in Carmela's eyes, and she was trembling.
"So, they failed to kill you?" Xyxrlove asked.
"Do I look like a ghost to you?" Holly retorted as she tried to take a fighting stance.
"I'm not in the mood for a fight, Councilor." Xyxrlove tightened her grip on Carmela's ear, making Carmela whimper. "Get down on your knees or she dies right now."
"O...Okay." Holly said, quickly lowering her fighting stance. As quickly as she could, she got down on her hands and knees.
"Do me a favor, honey..." Xyxrlove said in a mocking tone, turning her head to look at the terrified Carmela. "...Stay right here and don't move. I'm going to kill her and I want you to watch."
With a terrified look on her face, Carmela turned her head to the side. "Oh, don't worry..." Xyxrlove continued to mock, patting her head. "...You won't live long enough to have nightmares."
Xyxrlove then turned her head back to normal and started to walk towards Holly, Carmela doing as she was told.
"Now..." Xyxrlove said as she reached Holly. "...How shall I kill you?"
"Hey, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die." Holly said as she looked up at her. "I don't think it really matters."
"Well said." Xyxrlove smirked.
"Can I just say something?" Holly asked.
"I don't see why not, Councilor." Her mother's minion replied. "I'd like to think of this as playing with my food before I eat it. Wouldn't you?"
"I don't mind that you think you can kill me..." Holly declared. "...I'm used to that. What I do mind..." Her eyes flashed with anger. "...Is you thinking that you can tell me niece to WATCH AS YOU KILL ME!"
Quickly, Holly grabbed her walking stick and rammed it up in-between Xyxrlove's legs. Lifting her head up, Xyxrlove howled in pain, only to be cut off by Holly's tail impaling her in the chest and sticking out her back. As Holly slowly got back up to her feet, Xyxrlove groaned in pain and hunched over, putting a clawed hand on Holly's chest, blood coming out of her mouth.
"Sorry." Holly told her before she pulled her tail out, causing Xyxrlove to drop to the floor with a thud.
Meanwhile, Magness was standing a few feet away from the prisoners, her eyes wide with shock after hearing the thud. "Xyxrlove?" She called, but got no answer, until Carmela jumped back, Holly flying around the corner.
"Oh no." Magness' eyes widened.
A split second later, Holly slammed her tail into Maganess, throwing her back and making her hit the wall with such force that the wall gave way, Magness disappearing from the room.
All of the prisoners had relieved looks on their faces as Holly landed in front of them. "I bet at this moment..." Holly said. "...You're thinking: Holly, am I glad to see you!"
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Carmela had caught up with Holly, and now Holly was finishing freeing her hands. As soon as the ropes fell away, Holly and Carmela turned to face the others and then got down on their knees, starting to free them. While Carmela worked on her brother, Holly worked on Rose.
"I am glad to see you, by the way." Rose said as Holly managed to untie her ankles.
"I'm just glad to see that you're all okay." Holly said as she moved on up to free Rose's hands. Quickly, Holly untied Rose's wrists and Rose started to rub them as soon as they were free. "Rose, I want you to do something for me."
"Anything." Rose said as she stopped rubbing her wrists.
"Go out there and deal with Magness." Holly said. "I'll free the others."
"You got it." Rose smiled.
As Rose slowly got to her feet, Holly did the same, grabbing her walking stick. Taking a step back, Holly allowed Rose to turn around and then fly out the hole in the wall.
"Okay." Holly said as she crouched down in front of her brother and started to work on his feet. As she did, she looked up at him and smiled. "Hi." She said.
"Been awhile." Riley said.
"It sure has." Holly agreed, just as Nidhug stepped out of the kitchen, only to freeze as he saw Holly and Carmela freeing the prisoners. "Hey, what is going on here?" He asked. "What are you doing?"
By this point, Holly had managed to free her brother, who quickly shot up to his feet. Looking up, Holly watched as her brother spoke: "Holly, continue to help my daughter. This one is mine." Then, Riley flapped his wings and flew over his older sister, slamming into Nidhug and forcing him back into the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, they didn't stop until they hit the counter. Nidhug grunted as they both rolled over it, falling to the floor. Miraculously, the bottle of wine was missed by the two dragons, who only knocked over the corkscrew that Nidhug had found.
Grunting, Nidhug landed on his back, the angry Riley on top of him. Steam coming out of his snout, Riley took Nidhug by the head and slammed it against the floor. "That was for my family!" Riley shouted as Nidhug cried out in pain.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Rose lowered down onto the grass outside the house, staring at the family's grassy side-yard, a white wooden fence being the only thing that kept Riley's house and the next door house separated.
However, one thing was off. Magness was nowhere to be seen.
"She got aw-?" Rose started, but before she could finish, she grunted as she was hit from behind, sending her flying forward. Hitting the ground, Rose rolled forward as Magness lowered onto the ground.
Magness watched as Rose came to a halt and then slowly got to her feet. Grunting, Magness charged at Rose. As soon as she reached Rose, she tried to swipe at Rose's head, but Rose was able to duck and then jump back up, grabbing hold of Magness' clawed hands and starting to struggle with her.
"Personally..." Rose said before she grunted, starting to get overpowered by Magness before she managed to gain back control. "...I'm glad I get to have this time with you...before I kick your tail."
"Oh?" Magness managed before she kicked Rose in the shin. This allowed Magness to turn the tables on Rose, spinning her around and pinning her arms behind her back. Growling, Magness started to rush Rose over to the fence, where one of the posts planted into the ground was pointy sharp.
LINE BREAK
Back in the kitchen, Nidhug managed to push Riley off of him. As Riley briefly stumbled back, Nidhug managed to get to his feet and he managed to grab the wine bottle, just as Riley rushed toward him.
Grunting, Nidhug slammed the wine bottle down on Riley's head, shattering the bottle and making Riley drop to the floor. As Riley hit the floor, he saw that the corkscrew was right to the side of his face.
"Shouldn't have attacked me, Riley-boy." Nidhug said as he bent down and picked Riley up by his chin. He smiled evilly at the dazed dragon. "Hopefully my master won't mind that I bruised you up a little bit. After all, you did attack me."
"Do you know what I hope your master doesn't mind?" Riley asked.
"What?" Nidhug humored him, not knowing that Riley grabbed the corkscrew.
"That I killed you."
"Huh?"Nidhug asked, confused, right before Riley used the corkscrew to slice him up his side.
Roaring in pain, Nidhug released Riley and jumped to his feet. As Nidhug staggered back a step, Riley got to his feet. Grunting, he lunged forward and planted the corkscrew into Nidhug's chest, right into his heart.
Immediately, Nidhug slumped to the side, using the counter to support himself; but with blood coming from his mouth, Nidhug could only groan in pain before he fell back onto the floor, dead.
With his enemy slain, Riley finally allowed himself to realize how hurt he was. Groaning, he brought a clawed hand to his head where Nidhug had smashed the bottle over.
LINE BREAK
In the side-yard, Rose grunted as she tried to pull away from the pointed post that was threatening to go through her head, but with Magness trying to push her head down onto it, Rose found it impossible to get away. Just...prolong what was sure to come.
"Come on, Agent Long!" Magness exclaimed. "Stop fighting! It'll be quick! I wish I could tell you that it wouldn't even hurt! I'll never be able to tell you for sure, though." She chuckled. "Oh, just DIE!"
Finally having had enough, Rose brought her elbow back and elbowed Magness in the chest.
As Magness grunted, Rose managed to slide away and back, quickly grabbing hold of Magness' head and pushing it down on the pointed post.
"Can you tell me now?!" The enraged dragon demanded.
LINE BREAK
On the Island of Draco, later that night, Riley (who had his head bandaged), Storm, Carmela and Stennis, all in their dragon forms, stood before Jake and Holly, who were seated at the table.
"Thank you." Riley said. "If it hadn't have been for you, I don't know what would have happened."
"I can venture a guess." Holly said.
"I just don't understand how they found us." Storm said.
"I think I can answer that." Came the sound of Rose's voice. Quickly, Riley and his family turned around, watching as Rose, in her human form, walked up to them, holding an envelope in her hands.
"What's that?" Storm asked.
"How they found you." Rose said as she reached them. "Here, take a look." She said as she handed it over to Riley. "I found it on Magness' body."
Looking down at the envelope, Riley could see that it was the envelope to the letter that he had sent Holly over a year earlier.
"The envelope says Dante Jones..." Rose crossed her arms. "...But the letter inside says Riley Jennings."
"I sent this to my sister." Riley said. "How did she manage to get her hands on it?"
"She must have stolen it." Rose replied. "She must have sneaked into Holly's quarters and stolen it."
LINE BREAK
A short time later, Holly stepped out of the Main Hall to see that Riley, Stennis, Carmela and Storm, all in their dragon forms, were crowded together, talking amongst themselves. Silently, Holly started to walk over to them.
"What are you talking about?" She asked as she reached them, making Riley and his family all pull away from each other and turn to face her.
"Oh, hi Holly." Riley said.
"What are you talking about?" Holly repeated.
"About what we're going to do now." Storm answered. "Riley made a big mistake when he sent you that letter."
"Now we're in even more danger." Stennis said.
"I don't know about that." Holly said. "Right now, you're safe from my mother and her minions. That's all that should matter right about now."
"She knows where we live." Storm said. "We're going to have to move again and change our names again."
"Well, I-" Holly started.
"She's right, Holly." Riley said softly. "Maybe this time, we should move far away."
"How far?" Holly asked.
"Like out of state." Riley replied.
Closing her eyes, Holly took a deep breath as she took in her brother's words. Opening her eyes again, she smiled. "I have a better idea." She said. "You want to hear it?"
"What, Holly?" Riley asked.
"Stay here." Holly said, watching as a look of shock appeared on the faces of Riley and Storm. "No, hear me out." Holly said.
"That's a bad idea." Storm said.
"It's not, really it's not." Holly tried to assure them. "I've lived here since my mother's escape. She wants me dead. I've been safe here. You can be protected."
"She might want you dead, Holly..." Riley said. "...But she wants me to join her. She's not actively pursuing you. It's only if she runs into you. Not for my family and me. She's looking for me, and she won't stop until she either gets me...or I die."
"She'd come here." Storm said. "Do you want that to happen?"
"No." Holly said softly. "And I suppose you're right. She already broke the agreement that we made."
"What agreement?" Riley asked.
"That's not important." Holly said.
"No, it is." Riley told her sternly. "What agreement did you make with her?"
"In only forty-eight hours, she had been responsible for the deaths of twelve Dragon Council Agents." Holly said. "We had her minion in our custody, but I knew that she would come back to get him. I wanted to be done with it all, Riley. I was tired of fighting her."
"What did you do?" Riley repeated.
"I told her that I would give her back her minion if she would leave me alone, leave you alone and leave my Agents alone." Holly said. "She broke her promise."
"What did you expect, Holly?"
"That's what Rose and two Agents told me." Holly then took a step forward. "Look, she already broke her promise, so there's nothing stopping her from coming here and causing trouble."
"That's exactly why we need to leave New York." Riley said.
"But here you could have protection." Holly said. "What about your kids?"
"What about them?" Riley said. "I'm doing this to keep them safe."
"They may be safe, but are they really living?" Holly asked. "Are your children living their lives?"
"They go to school." Riley crossed his scaly arms. "They go to school as Douglas and Bethany Jones."
"Yeah, but are they really happy?" Holly challenged. "Are they making friends?"
"No." Stennis blurted out before Riley smacked himself in the forehead.
"For crying out loud, Holly!" Riley exclaimed. "You aren't making any sense! You say that you don't want any of your Agents to risk getting hurt one moment, and then the very next moment, you offer us protection here, even though that would be your Agents at risk. Make up your mind! What do you really want?"
"I want you to stay here." Holly told him. "I want you..." She repeated, much slower this time. "...To stay here. All of you. You're family."
Riley's exasperated look quickly died away. All of them looked sad, and it made Holly start to worry. "You...You can't, though. Huh?" She asked.
"Holly, we've grown closer over this..." Riley said. "...We all have. Before our mother showed her face, Storm and my kids didn't even know about you. Now, they do and they accept you. They trust you, just like I do. But we can't stay here."
"You're going to leave state." Holly said.
"I think that'd be best." Riley said as he put a clawed hand on his wife's scaly shoulder. "We just don't know where we're going to go."
"Well..." Holly said, knowing that it would be best if she respected their choice. "...Okay, then. If...If you need some help, if you want someone to help you choose which state to move to, feel free to ask me. I'd be glad to help."
"Thanks." Riley and Storm said in unison.
Holly merely nodded before she turned and started to walk away.
END FLASHBACK
Remaining on her bed, on her stomach, Holly opened her eyes when she heard a knock at her door. "Go away." She groaned.
"Councilor Jennings, it's me." Came Councilor Asil's voice.
"What do you want?" Holly asked.
"Well-"
"Can't it wait?!" Holly cut him off. In all truth, she hadn't intended for him to speak. "I'm busy right now."
"Busy doing what?"
"Mourning my brother!"
"It's about your brother, Councilor Jennings."
"Unless you want to tell me that he's somehow alive, I don't care."
"It's about his funeral, Councilor." Asil said. "His wife and children are going to stay for the funeral. They're going to stay here until after the funeral is over."
Hearing this, Holly gasped, her eyes widening.
LINE BREAK
The next morning, Jake III walked up to where McClellan, in his dragon form, was waiting for him. "Aw..." McClellan said with a smile as Jake stopped in front of him. "...Glad to see that you've decided to show up for your second day."
"Why would I skip out on training?" Jake asked. "Did you think that you had scared me away?"
McClellan didn't answer. Instead, he said: "Well, I'm glad to see that you came on time."
"I'm not one to be late."
"Well, then..." McClellan's smile widened as he held up the blindfold. "...Let's begin..."
BLACKOUT; END EPISODE
A/N: Please review.